Today, Fondy and I went to the 15th Annual Wellness Show, what is officially described as a consumer show focusing on all aspects of health and vitality. It is also, incidentally, a showcase for weirdoes and their various weirdly obsessions which is the reason why I agreed to tag along. We wound our way through the various booths and display tables pushing everything from apple cider vinegars to zinc supplements. While Fondy was getting a free spinal analysis, my gaze wandered over to the reiki booth where four solemn-looking individuals hovered over a fifth lying, eyes shut, headphones on. The foursome stood stock still, their open palms hovering over their patient. Whatever the hell was going on seemed to require a fair bit of concentration on the part of at least three of them. The fourth, the young Asian girl palming the guy’s forehead, seemed distracted, continually casting glances down the aisle, perhaps in anticipation of the guy who would be taking her shift. Evidently, he was running late. How long was this supposed to take anyway? I never found out as, Fondy’s free spinal analysis completed (turns out the right side of her spine was in the alarming “better come in and see me” red category as opposed to the “you’re perfectly fine and don’t need to spend any money on a chiropractor” green), we moved on. We strolled past a multitude of booths pushing health and vitality boosters – liquid greens, reishi mushrooms, friendly bacteria to help restore that intestinal flora – then another shilling new age crystal nail files. Beside it, a well-built shirtless guy was demonstrating a piece of fitness equipment that, so far as I could tell, was comprised of a platform (for standing on) and a broom handle (for holding behind your back as you swung from side to side). His station wasn’t that busy, but the fitness club with the bosomy blond trainer across from him seemed to be doing alright. Fondy told me she was going to take a stress test and I said “Sure”, then redirected my attention to the novel I had the foresight to bring along. It wasn’t until I had finished my chapter I glanced up and noticed one of the guys manning the “stress test” booth was trying his darndest to convince Fondy to shell out for a copy of Dianetics. For some odd reason, the booth made no mention of Scientology. I can only imagine the placard in question must have fallen down. Anyhoo, Fondy beat a hasty retreat and we moved on, past shiatsu masseuses, all natural nuts displays, and home detoxifying kits. I stopped briefly to check out a couple of exceptionally limber young women demonstrate some yoga moves (I’m a notoriously inflexible individual) before Fondy directed me to the exit. So ended our trip to the Wellness Show.
On the way home, we stopped by Granville Island where we picked up some fruit and a box of chocolates from ChocolaTas, a local chocolatier. We sampled a hazelnut praline 4-spice, a kirsch truffle, an almond nougatine praline, a pretty good dark chocolate ganache, and a deeply disturbing lemon-thyme ganache. Fondy found them all too sweet. All in all, fine but I’m sticking with my boy Themis at Chocoatl.
Time to answer a few questions –
Grapesofwraith: “I was wondering what your opinion is on organic foods and locally grown foods.”
Answer: First off, love the name. I wanted to title a season two episode Grapes of Wraith but was overruled. As for your question – I do prefer to go organic whenever possible.
Anonymous #1 writes: “Is there an episode in Atlantis that you think could be a fan favorite as Window of Opportunity is the SG1?”
Answer: According to GEOS, it’s First Strike.
Lorr54 writes: “I sent 5 dozen handmade dark chocolate truffles to N. John Smith after the convention in March […] I always wondered if they had been received, shared and enjoyed.”
Answer: That was you? I remember them well. Many thanks. They were excellent. Did you make them yourself?
Shawna writes: “Back to Boston Legal….Were you as annoyed as I was to see Monica Potter go?”
Answer: To be honest, I was more annoyed by the fact that there was no explanation for her disappearance.
Bugguy writes: “ I’m planning on coming to Vancouver […]. If you had to pick a hotel to stay at what would it be? My other question is what is the restaurant that was featured in Upgrades and is it any good.”
Answer: I’ve always liked the Hotel Vancouver. Great location and it is also purportedly haunted. What more could you ask for? As for that restaurant in Upgrades, I believe it was Horizons. Is it any good? Well, although I loved the company I was with, I was less than impressed with the food on my one and only visit.
Anonymous #2 writes: “Have you watched Heroes?”
Answer: I saw the first two episodes. Interestingly enough, in a recent interview the creator warned that some of the heroes would not survive the show’s first season. That some gutsy storytelling.
Jenny Robin writes: “Can you give me an approximate number of people who work in your production office on any given day?”
Answer: I’d say approximately 35-40.
Nathaniel writes: “Do you know if any of the big boys at MGM have gone to the big boys at NBC/U to see if they could get a special one shot of Atlantis on NBC one night after Heroes?”
Answer: It would be interesting – but highly unlikely.
Kas writes: “ Do you know if the movies will be region free DVD or at least released simultaneously to those countries who have already seen S10, eg UK – zone 2?”
Answer: Sorry, I have no idea.
Anonymous #3 writes: “Some spoilers that are circulating now have got me a little worried. Can you reassure us that The Ark of Truth won’t turn out to be a Mitchell-fest.”
Answer: I commented on this in the Chicago Tribune interview. Fans will come across spoilers that reveal an aspect of a given script and subsequently blow it out of proportion, expecting the worst. My advice is: wait an see.
Anonymous #4 writes: “You should also understand that some people have a little more information about what’s going on than others.”
Answer: Intriguing but, with all due respect, doubtful.
David McKee writes: “What does your Magic 8 Ball say about the prospects for Jacob Carter returning in “Continuum”?”
Magic 8 Ball says: Outlook not so good.
Joe, I have to ask… Ever tried Vegemite?
Wow…that wellness thing sounds right at home at a mental institution. On a completely unrelated note, those chocolates look sweet, in all meanings of that word.
Question: If you were to assign one word for each episode in the first half of Season 4 of Atlantis (as in, a description, or how you feel about them), what would they be?
“To be honest, I was more annoyed by the fact that there was no explanation for her disappearance.”
Yes, I suppose that was my main problem, too. Not so much seeing her go, but just seeing her gone. It’s like they’ve got two casts: the regulars (Spader, Shatner, etc.) and the seasonals (pretty much any of them under 35). Which seems a pity.
So, I love how Star Trek actors keep popping up on Stargate (there was one time in the second season of Atlantis when, in four consecutive Stargates (couting both SG-1 and SGA), the four latest Star Treks were represented…which I found to be a lot of fun. Anyway, I was just wondering what the odds are of ever seeing an actor from the original series on Stargate? (Of course, Kelly and Doohan are dead, Shatner’s mighty busy, and Nimoy, as I understand it, is retired…but there’s still Takei, Nichols and Koenig.)
Hi Joe!
Some of your fans are in the process of making a type of “fanclub” area in your honor. However, we were wondering if you would mind if we used some of the pictures you’ve posted on this blog. As wonderful as google is, there’s not a lot of pictures of you! 🙂
Thanks,
4ps
You did it to me again! There I was, treating myself to a couple of dark chocolate buttercreams from the local candy store, and then I see the gorgeous pictures of chocolates on your blog! I don’t believe mine can compare to the scrumptious chocolate you seem to enjoy indulging in. You need to post pictures of stuff I don’t like, so I can laugh maliciously while eating the Food of the Gods! LOL!
While many of the characters in SGA follow archetypes set out in SG1, (doctor, scientist, team leader, muscle), Dr. Weir’s role as a diplomat and negotiator was something new to the series. Much as I liked Hammond, O’Neill and Landry as base commanders, they hardly scored high points on the subtlety and nuance scales.
Overall, and offering no judgment on the fate of the character, do you feel the type of character that was explored with Dr. Weir was a success?
Answer: I saw the first two episodes. Interestingly enough, in a recent interview the creator warned that some of the heroes would not survive the show’s first season. That some gutsy storytelling.
Yes, but Heroes has been doing that since the first episode, okay not the first but you get it. Killing Heroes left and right is what happens in almost all the episodes because Sylar kills them. It’s the tone of the show not knowing who is safe. If they are going to kill someone it will probably be not Peter, Claire or Hiro the rest are up in the air. Plus first season people aren’t as attached to the characters.
You can’t compare Heroes to SGA, because SGA was never about which of the main characters will survive. Not that you were, just saying.
Anyways you should totally keep watching Heroes its awesome.
Hmm…there was something like the Wellness Show at our county fair – i didn’t have a choice about going. It was quite like your experience actually.
Question too – when series 3 comes out, do you know if you’d be on there as a producer, a writer, or some of both?
Another question – with Atlantis and SG1, do you ever interact with the stage crew and go down to the sets, or is everything more seperated?
Hi Joe:
Were you aware that there is a movement afoot to have Paul McGillion play a young Scottie (James Doohan’s character) in a new star trek movie about a young Enterprise crew? If you were writing that movie, who would you choose to take on those roles?
I love the pictures you take of the cast and crew. Are you planning on clicking Kavan Smith and Joe Flanigan any time soon? What type of camera do you use?
Have a great day, Joe.
Patricia
Anonymous #4 writes: “You should also understand that some people have a little more information about what’s going on than others.”
Answer: Intriguing but, with all due respect, doubtful.
Hmmm. I guess we’ll know when we see how many episodes Torri’s in. I’m still betting that the information certain people have is accurate.
You guys should just tell people her contract is up and you only offered her a handful of eps.
I thought Monica Potter’s character left Boston Legal firm as a result of getting tired of Denny Crane’s sexual comments and especially those towards her… the calling her chubby stuff. Shirley tried to get him to apologize but everytime he did, in pure Denny Crane style he made it worse. Then Shirley tried to get Monica Potter’s character to let it slide and she was too rigid about it and left the firm.
As for those characters under 35 seeming to be seasonal, I think the problem is that so far they have been pretty colorless. Perhaps, Joe, you could give fans a perspective on the symbiotic nature of writers/actors to creation of characters… how writers create a character and a good actor brings something more to the role which then excites the writers in a way that has them writing towards that. I think Claudia Black and Vala might be a good example of that.
I think in Boston Legal’s case, those veteran actors are so good and adept at what they do — Shatner, Spader, Bergen, Rene A., and Betty White — it’s hard for the younger ones to compete and cut a wide enough path to be noticed. Perhaps the revolving door on younger characters is more David Kelley not getting as excited about writing for them as he does for the more veteran actors who can expand on what he gives them. I don’t know how old the actor who plays Clarence/Clarisse, but he seems to paint a big canvas and I suspect he’s a keeper. At least I hope so.
If you live down here in California, you can find the health “faddists” at all sorts of events, including art and wine tasting festivals. The obsession with health and beauty makes a lot of people gullible to all sorts of strange ideas.
Also, my apologies for how my previous question came out. I meant it as a general question, but I don’t think it came out quite that way. In no way did I mean to put you on the spot. Again, very sorry about that and thank you for your gracious answer.
Everything that’s been said about what’s going on with LiveJournal is sadly true.
My friends list is spontaneously combusting because of the loss of Beckett and Weir and the inclusion of Carter in season four. It’s sad to see so many people who’ve become friends through this fandom simply disappearing.
People have given up, and I don’t blame them. I have 63 people on my LJ flist. I met 61 of those 63 through SGA fandom. We are mostly Shep/Weir shippers, but there are also a couple of Sheylas, McWeir fans and a slasher (Shep/McKay is her ship of choice!)
About five of the people on my flist still watch the show. The rest, because of the planned changes, especially the loss of Elizabeth, have decided to switch their loyalty to NCIS, BSG or Prison Break.
You say not to judge before we’ve seen the episodes. Well, we saw Carson die — how did you expect his fans to react? We also know, courtesy of Brad Wright, that Torri will be recurring “for some time”. What happens after said “some time” is up? She’s history. She goes the way of Ford..
It seems nothing that anyone says can make TPTB see just how many people are calling it quits. I hope for your sake that there are plenty of SG1 fans like majorsal who don’t care about SGA and haven’t shown any desire to watch it until now, but will tune in to see Carter.
There will need to be a lot of them to make up for all the Elizabeth and Carson fans, and the people who ship them with various others, who are so disillusioned that they’ll watch anything but SGA in the future.
Because of your nice pictures, today I had to go and buy some chocolates 🙂 The brand by the way, is Leonidas and it’s Belgian, but that’s just about everything I know about it.
A Stargate question- are there any plans for releasing a CD (or even MP3s) with SG1’s soundtrack? I have the season 1 soundtrack and it’s beautiful music, but there are 9 seasons with even more beautiful music after that.
Etta
Hi Joe !
In “family ties” there’s that scene between Jacek and Sam in the lab wich was very ambiguous… they talk about disappointment/network/lack of support from the people in charge/eureka…
Isn’t that a personnal message from you (writers) to scifi ? and a way to express your feelings about the cancellation to us, viewers ?
thanks for your time
Nanoo
Oh God, please, please tell me you guys up there at Bridge aren’t going by GEOS when making decisions! That place is hilarious, I grant you, but certainly no accurate assesment of episodes or critical review with an eye toward quality. It’d be good for an ego stroking, but little else.
Sometimes I don’t like your magic 8 ball’s answers. Ever think of trading it it for a new one? 😉
Hey Joe,
I can’t believe I LOVED the Sam and Rodney interatction in The road not taken… I mean… It was sooooo great to see them out of the “Sam’s supersmart, Rodney… Not that much…” routine. Even if I still have my doubts about season 4, that makes me a little bit more impatient to see it…
On another topic.
In the Atlantian mythology Atlantis had 9 twin cities… And we saw one in the episode The Tower. Yet, there was no reference to the legend. So… Was this reference deliberate?
And will we acutally see more elements of the Atlantian legend in season 4?
Let me get this straight. Continuum is “going to give us the chance to see some old favorites”, but none of those “favorites” are going to be Jacob Carter, Apophis, or Jonas Quinn. I assume you guys are shooting for Frasier, but who else do you guys, the producers, think fans want to see again?
PS
Jack O’neill is a given. The vast majority of fans want to see him in both movies, and I don’t need some internet poll to tell me that much.
You said you wanted the s/j ship resolved at series end. how hard will the be when RDAs participation is no longer a guarantee and O’neill is becoming less prevelant in the franchise?
Hiya Joe. Joey?
I read your blog every day, usually for the laugh factor. I’ve worked for years as a server in various upscale restaurants. You often talk about food, but never about the service. What do you think makes a good server, and what’s the worst experience you’ve ever had with one? While eating with my husband once, our server quit. It was a full house and she’d obviously had enough. Things were a mess after that, but the scene she made actually made for good entertainment.
On the stargate front, I only got into the show about a year ago, when I housesat for a friend who had to move to Paris for a summer for work. She had seasons 1-8 on DVD, so I picked them up one night. I was hooked with RDA’s “I can save these people!” I’ll always think of those seasons as SG-1, probably because my friend didn’t have season nine. Now that I’ve seen it too, I admit that I don’t think it has been as good since the new characters have joined. I still enjoy and watch when I can, but I do think of it as a new show, not my SG-1 with Jack. Good luck with Atlantis. I haven’t caught up with it yet, but may give it a try next year with Sam. She’s my second favorite character.
Looking forward to more blogs,
Melissa Risent
Having read a lot of the comments in the last couple of days, how do you feel about so many Atlantis fans saying they won’t watch anymore, while people like majorsal, who’ve never shown any interest in the show and who’ve admitted they’d never have considered watching it, are now interested just because of Carter?
Don’t you feel like you’re selling out the Atlantis fans to make people who watched SG1 happy?
I mean these people have, in many cases, had no interest in the product you’ve been producing with Atlantis. They know nothing about the history of the show, and most likely won’t watch seasons 1-3 because Carter wasn’t a part of them.
Why would you want to cater to them when you have a loyal, interested audience of Atlantis fans? Would you really rather alienate them just to make some Carter fans happy?
Just so you know, I used to love Carter. Right now I hate the character, because of the way she was from … about the time Pete arrived on the scene. If I never see Carter again, it’ll be too soon.
Answer: You’re the second person to recommend Graeter’s. Richard Kind (aka Lucius) recommended it the last time he was in town.
Well then you must try it–I recommend the peach or pumpkin (I know, unusual) flavors. Anything they make is great though.
I really have to remind myself not to read this blog when I’m hungry; now I need some chocolate!
Speaking of food, are you the writer behind all the great Jack-cake references? He seems to mention it all the time.
Thanks for your time, and the Sam-Jack comment in the last post–I agree some kind of resolution would be much appreeciated.
Royal
I did make said truffles from a recipe of my own devising. I couldn’t find a recipe I liked. The secret is using good chocolate, of course! I am very happy they were enjoyed.
Some characters are leaving, others arriving. My plan: to give the producers and writers some credit and see how it works out. There’s no other TV show I actually write on my calendar, so I’m planning on sticking around.
I may not be in the vast majority, but I really don’t care one way or the other if RDA is in the SG1 movies. I also rather fancy Cam Mitchell and wouldn’t mind seeing lots of him, but that’s just me.
Like my sister, who has already stopped watching SGA with Mr. McGillion untimely departure I may just joined her. I never liked Sam and as hell am not happy with her on SGA. I’ll watch the first few where it maybe Carter-free but once she arrived, if isn’t something extraordinary, well good bye.
No offense to FoolishPleasure, but I would mind if RDA isn’t in the movies. Jack was a big reason my family loved watching for so long. It wouldn’t be right not to have him back for SG-1’s movies. And all of the cast has such wonderful chemistry and rapport with RDA, I think it would hurt the quality of the movies if Jack wasn’t a part of them. There are so many storylines that revolve around the character, so many loose ends that need to be tied up. Mitchell is ok, but there’s only one Jack O’neill. Jack is the show’s real star.
“Miho said…
In the Atlantian mythology Atlantis had 9 twin cities… And we saw one in the episode The Tower. Yet, there was no reference to the legend. So… Was this reference deliberate?
And will we acutally see more elements of the Atlantian legend in season 4?”
I too have been wondering this. when will we see a true connection between SGA Atlantis and the Atlantis mythology? It’s bugged me ever since season one.
time is short…
the only question I could come up with right now is….
Big Joe, how was your day?
also…I am preparing a special super-secret ultra-platinum adventure question for you for tomorrow.
Joe, Why is “expecting a Mitchell-fest” the same as “expecting the worst”? I, personally, would love a Mitchell-fest, and so would a lot of other fans. In fact, we think we’re way overdue for some great Mitchell entertainment. Please tell us we won’t be disappointed in the movies!
Joe — please tell us that the stars of the movies will be the original reason so many actually loved what was Stargate SG-1 – Sam, Daniel and Teal’c. Please tell us that Mitchell and Vala will be minimized and that there will actually be time spent between Sam, Daniel and Teal’c that actually harkens back to the fact that they are friends and teammates who saved each others butts, as well as the butts of all on earth and in the galaxy umpteen times over 8 years as opposed to this OOC stuff of seasons 9-10 when they hardly talk to each other never mind interact as if they knew each other for 8 years.